Follow the Creed
by QueenPersephoneofHades
Summary: Robin is kidnapped by Abstergo; why? For what purpose was he taken? It turns out he didn't know his family tree as well as he thought he did. Joined by a girl named Aurora, he begins to discover what it truly means to be an Assassin. DISCLAIMER: I own nothing! ON HIATUS!
1. Prologue: Kidnapped

**A/N: Holy crap; new fanfiction! :O WHOO! Teehee, any-who, this is just an idea I came up with while watching 'Young Justice: Invasion' yesterday. And, honestly, I'm quite surprised nobody has thought of this yet. I mean, it makes sense when you think about it, ya' know? Um, you're probably wondering what 'this' is, but I ain't giving any spoilers! You'll have to figure it out yourself! ENOUGH OF MY RAMBLING! On with this story!**

** YJ~*~*~*~*~*~AC**

_"Is there no other way?"_

_ "No. The boy has already gained the skills necessary to stay alive when sent back there; the girl as well, though she needs more training."_

_ "So what shall I do, sir?"_

_ "…..Collect them both immediately. We've already set out a lure; all we need to wait for now is the Bat to send those children out to play."_

**YJ~*~*~*~*~*~AC**

Why is it that every time the Team received a stealth mission, Robin seemed to be the only one on who could remain hidden? This was the question running through the Boy Wonder's head at the moment as he watched Kid Flash and Superboy fight against a horde of guards who'd caught up to them.

Shaking his head and sighing quietly, Robin jumped down from the ceiling and landed in front of the main control console of the massive super-computer of the lab. While his friends were busy fighting security yet again, the black-haired boy hooked his glove/laptop into the computer and began hacking into the mainframe.

The mysterious science research company Abstergo had been reported with suspicious behavior on several occasions by anonymous sources, gaining Batman's attention. However, before he could investigate himself, word came that the Joker had broken out of the Arkham Asylum (again), so the Bat had sent the young Team instead to snoop around.

It was _supposed_ to be a simple '_get in, hack computer, get out_' sort of mission, but of _course_ KF had to trigger the alarms on accident and draw just about every guard in the entire building to their location.

"_Now do you guys see why I wanted to do this alone? !_" Robin asked mentally, exasperated.

"_Oh, shut it! You can complain later!_" Artemis snapped back at him through M'gann's mind-link as she hurriedly shot a net-arrow at a few guards, entangling them in a net that was hard to get out of.

Before Robin could think of a snarky retort, Kaldur's voice came through this time in the link: "_Please Robin, if you could hold back on the jokes and hack the computer already, we could leave! We cannot afford to remain here for too long!_"

"_Okay, okay, just give me a few more seconds!_" Robin said, typing quickly on his holographic typing pad over his glove to speed up the hacking process. His eyes narrowed. This was too easy….. and the information on the screen was barely important at all…

Suddenly, with a silence only Batman or Robin himself could manage to achieve, a figure dropped to the ground behind the Boy Wonder.

Before he could utter a sound or even turn in surprise, the person quickly struck a pressure point on the back of the thirteen-year-old boy's neck, knocking him out cold in a second.

Catching the little bird easily as he fell back, the person moved fast, removing the utility belt and gloves from the boy before taking out a gold disc and leaving it all on top of the computer console for his teammate's to find.

Then, the person lifted the boy in their arms and disappeared without a trace like a thief in the night.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~*~AC**

"_Robin's offline!_" M'gann cried in terror, scared for her younger friend as his mental presence suddenly vanished.

The rest of the Team, who'd been busy finishing knocking out the rather large group of guards, all froze at her statement.

Kid Flash immediately shot toward the place he'd last seen the Boy Wonder, near the computer console.

However, the only things the teenage speedster could find were his friend's belt and gloves, along with a golden disk that shined a little in the eerie light from the computer screen.

KF turned back to his teammates as they ran up, his face screwed up in confusion. "He's gone!" he said, glaring at the disk that was now in his hand as if it had been the one to take Robin.

"M'gann, can you sense him anywhere at all?" asked Kaldur, looking to the young telepathic Martian.

Her eyes glowed white for a moment, then she shook her head, tears of fear and worry coming into her eyes. "No! He's either out of my range or unconscious!" she reported.

The Team all shared concerned looks, before Kid Flash shot off, running in a random direction. A few seconds later he reappeared, shrugging helplessly. "I can't find him either!" he said.

"What should we do?" asked Artemis, her eyes narrowed as she scanned the shadows of the lab like a hawk.

Kaldur's eyes narrowed as well. "We should return to the base; Batman will undoubtedly know of a way to find him, and he should be the one to take a look at this anyways," he said, gesturing to the gold disc still in KF's hand.

They all nodded and left hurriedly, determined to find Robin by any means necessary, and unaware of the camera that was viewing their actions.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~*~AC**

**A/N: Aw, yeah! IT HAS BEGUN! Next chap will probably be more explanatory, telling of the plot somewhat – I'm guessing most Assassin's Creed fans have already guessed what's going on. Anyway, stick around for the first chapter! BTW, please review; reviews make me update faster! *wink wink, nudge nudge*  
~Persephone**


	2. Chap 1: Animus

**A/N: I have no clue if I got all of the lines right; I had to re-watch some scenes so many times it wasn't funny! Please tell me if you know the correct lines for any parts!**

_Italics = echo or foreign language or telepathy._

** YJ~*~*~*~*~*~AC**

Darkness, then-

Blank white nothingness.

Robin blinked, dizzy and disoriented, as fuzzy images of what appeared to be ancient-looking buildings flashed before his eyes. 'What the…..?' he thought slowly, unable to form many coherent thoughts as his mind seemed to drift around in space.

For a second, he thought he heard the hum of a machine nearby, and he could almost feel _something_ on the edge of his mind, as if a telepath were trying to connect with him and yet they couldn't quite reach him.

Before he could blink and try to get his brain working past the fog that seemed to envelop it, Robin suddenly felt his mind snap violently into a fixed location, as if ripped from his body and stuck in another.

He could see now; he was surrounded by the ancient-looking buildings from before, but this time they were a bit clearer. He was also surrounded by many attractive girls who were crowding around him, getting right up in his personal space like a piece of metal to a magnet.

More confused the ever, Robin stumbled away from them, feeling like his body was heavier and bigger than the last time he'd tried to move it, and this just served to confuse him more.

A deep voice spoke up from somewhere nearby. "_**I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also was a chasing at the wind, for in much wisdom, is much grief, and he that increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow,**_" it said darkly.

Robin shook his head, trying to clear it despite the pounding ache that had begun right behind his eyes. His vision flashed white again, and now he was in a town square with different buildings, though they were still old-looking. Random traffic walked past him, unaware of his predicament.

"_We've got a problem!_" another voice said, this one light and feminine, and echoing slightly as if it came from a cave underground.

Robin tried to move his limbs, but they reacted a bit drastically, and he was unable to control himself from stumbling, losing his balance for the first time in what felt like forever. His vision began to flash red at the edges, images of other buildings and places flashing in front of his eyes as he began to panic at the lack of control he had over himself.

"_I can't anchor him to the memory,_" said the same female voice, still echoing, "_Too much psychological trauma; he's rejecting the treatment, retreating….._"

Another voice came out of nowhere, a man's: "_Richard, I need you to try and relax._"

That was the wrong thing to say. Who was that? And how did he know Robin's _real name?_ Robin, a.k.a. Richard Grayson, began to panic even more as his legs refused to cooperate with him.

"_Let me try and stabilize him!_" said the woman.

"_Focus, listen to the sound of my voice; recognize that what you're seeing isn't real, just a picture of the past. It can't hurt you, Richard,_" said the man in a calm voice, but Richard did not oblige him; not only was all of this extremely disorienting, but he didn't recognize that voice _at all._ This guy shouldn't know what his name was.

"_Damn it, it's not working!_" the woman exclaimed.

"_Give it a moment, he'll adjust. The first time is never easy,_" said the man.

Richard's vision began going white again.

"_We're losing him!_" the woman exclaimed.

"_That's enough, Ms. Stillman!_" said the man.

"_We need to pull him out; now!_" the woman demanded.

The man seemed resigned as he said, "_Alright Richard, we're going to try and bring you out now._"

Richard felt a tug on his mind, which really didn't help with his headache, and he slipped into blank darkness once more.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~*~AC**

Richard could hear something within the dark haze that kept his mind blank and unthinking. It was that man and woman again.

"_How is it that neither of them can connect to the memory? ! At least one of them should have been able to stabilize!_" That was the man's voice, loud and angry.

"_Well I'm sorry, sir, but this memory involves a great deal of psychological trauma; you can't expect a couple of high school kids to be able to handle that kind of stress!_" That was the woman, just as fierce as the man.

Before the argument could escalate any further, however, Richard suddenly felt his mind snap into sudden and full consciousness, as if he hadn't just been half in a comatose state of some-sort.

Richard's eyes flew open in less than a millisecond, darting all over to investigate the sources of the voices. Blurry shapes came somewhat into focus; a clear glass arch encased his head; a man and woman stood several feet from the table he was on, arguing over something or other; and a girl about Richard's own age lay on a table similar to his just across from him, a glass over her head as well as she blinked awake as suddenly as he had.

The girl's body tensed as her eyes darted around, her mouth opening slightly to breathe in slightly as her brown eyes widened in panic. "_Dove mi trovo? ! Voi chi siete? ! Cosa è successo a Clara?_" she cried out, beginning to sit up, which caused the glass dome to retract back into the bed.

Richard tried this as well, which proved successful as the dome disappeared from over his head.

The two adults in the room actually looked surprised to see both of them awake.

"Are you two okay?" asked the woman, who only looked to be in her twenties, as she came forward to inspect the pair.

"See? I told you they'd both be fine!" the man behind her said, looking smug and annoying, a lot like the look Richard was used to seeing on a bad guy's face when one of their useless schemes actually produced results.

Richard didn't even get a chance to say anything before the girl yelled harshly, "_Sei un bastardo! Che diavolo sta succedendo? !_"

Richard winced at her loud voice and her angry look, but the man merely raised an eyebrow at her, half-amused, half-uncomprehending.

With a huff, the girl said, quieter this time, and with a very strong Italian accent, "What the hell is going on?"

The man smiled at her kindly, his gaze darting from the girl to Richard and back again.

"Now, now, I just saved both your lives!" he said in a condescending tone, which only proved to infuriate the girl even more.

"Saved our lives? ! You kidnapped us, and strapped us into-….. these things!" she snarled, gesturing wildly to the tables they were on as she began shouting in Italian again.

"_Animus._ They're called _A__nimi_ for plural," said the man, still looking very calm and carefree even though Richard was sure he heard several swear words from the girl's mouth despite them being in Italian.

Richard allowed the girl to keep talking, unwilling to question these people himself; that would make him look disoriented and scared, and even though he was a bit of both, he refused to show that to these people.

"I don't even know you people! Why are you doing this to me? !" the girl continued interrogating the man as he walked around the twin tables.

The man's voice turned hard. "You have information we need, Ms. stella Rossa, as do you, Mr. Grayson," he said.

Richard exchanged glances with the girl uncertainly. Sure, _he'd_ have info they'd want; he was Robin, damn it! But why did they need this girl too? It was at this moment that Richard finally realized he wasn't in his Robin costume anymore, nor did he have his mask on; he'd been so confused and focused on getting answers that he hadn't even noticed until now. It felt wrong; very wrong, to be held by a villain like this and not have his utility belt full of batarangs to help him.

"Information? !" the girl's voice squeaked an octave higher, as if she couldn't understand the word at all, "I'm a high school freshman; what _information _could I possibly give you, the combination to my locker? !"

This made the man laugh, though it sounded forced, like he was trying to calm the girl down even though he wasn't succeeding at all. He stopped as the girl glared up at him murderously.

Wrinkling his nose, the man tried to change the subject. "I believe introductions are in order; Richard Grayson, this is Aurora stella Rossa; Aurora, this is Richard Grayson. We brought you both here to get some information that you both have," he said, waving his hand from one thirteen-year-old to the other in some form of introduction.

Aurora spared Richard a glance, half-surprised, half-confused, before she turned back to the man looking even more pissed off. "Information we both have? Dude, I don't know who you get your tips from, but you're pretty damn stupid; I've never met this guy before in my _life._ Ever!" she said.

The man's smile dropped into a serious frown. "We know who you are, Ms. stella Rossa; who you _both _are," he said darkly.

Richard couldn't help but tense up at that. It was to be expected after they took off his costume, but he wasn't used to the idea of enemies knowing his identity. Aurora had tensed so much she'd begun to shake, her eyes bright and dangerous.

"What the _hell _are you talking about? !" she demanded shrilly.

The man's smile returned, though it was grim. "Aurora stella Rossa, daughter of one of the most well known assassins in the world, and Richard Grayson, better known as Robin, the Boy Wonder, sidekick of the great Dark Knight of Gotham, Batman. You both have a lot of people after you," he said, raising his eyebrows.

The pair froze, their eyes slowly drifting up to lock onto each other. Aurora's bronze skin, black hair, and brown eyes were quickly locked into Richard's memory; this girl could be trouble. Aurora had no trouble memorizing his pale skin, black hair and blue eyes either.

"What is the meaning of this? Of bringing us together?" asked Richard, speaking for the first time.

Aurora seemed to wrinkle her nose at his American accent, but didn't comment.

The man smirked. "You both have something uniquely in common, and that _something_ is very important to both me and my employers. Alas, it is stuck inside those _heads _of yours, making it quite difficult to get a hold of. But we've been finding a way to see what we need to see," he said, gesturing to the tables they were sitting on.

Richard swallowed hard, clenching his hands into fists. "What is it you want from us, exactly?" he asked cautiously, unsure of whether or not he'd get an answer.

"For you both to do as you're told!" the man said in a warning tone. "The _Animus_ will allow us to locate what we need; once we have it, you'll both be free to go."

Aurora snorted, flipping a lock of black hair out of her eyes to glare fiercely at the man. "If you knew how many times I've heard that one, you would know that is a useless statement to me. I am _not _going back into that thing!" she snarled, her accent making her words much more intimidating.

"Neither am I! My mind was a disaster in there; heavy on the _dis!_" Richard cried, gaining odd looks from the woman nearby and Aurora.

The man's smile didn't waver, which made his next statement all the more sinister: "Then, we'll induce a coma on you both, and continue our work. When we're done, you'll be left to _die._ Truth be told, the only reason you're both still conscious is because this approach saves us time."

Richard could feel a cold sweat beginning to run down the back of his neck. "You're _insane!_" he exclaimed, and Aurora nodded in agreement as she edged around a little on her table as if to move away from the man.

"So, what is it, Mr. Grayson, Ms. stella Rossa? Live, or die?" asked the man pleasantly, as if he were just asking about the weather.

Both teenagers glanced at each other silently, and, even though they were both scared out of their wits, they were also really glad that they weren't alone in this, even if they were being paired with a kid they didn't even know.

"Lie down, you two. It's time to get started," said the man, motioning to the tables again.

Giving each other one last glance, Richard and Aurora did as they were told, placing their heads back onto the cold metal surface and allowing the glass arches to come over their heads.

"Wise decisions you two," said the man, his smirk growing wider.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~*~*~AC**

**A/N: HOLY CRAP! OK, that was chapter 1! YES! Okay, so, yeah; my OC Aurora is kinda a major character, so if you don't like major OC stories, you can just GET OUT OF HERE! Anyway, these are the translations for Aurora's Italian outbursts:**

_**1. Where am I?  
**__**2. Who are you people?  
**__**3. What happened to Clara?  
**__**4. You bastard!  
**__**5. What the hell is going on? !**_

**Yep! So, I'll see you all next chapter, huh? Oh, P.S.: This story will be updated only twice a week on Saturdays & Sundays, regardless of the chapter's length. OK?  
P.P.S. If you're wondering why I call Robin 'Richard' instead of 'Dick' like how most authors do, this is because I hate that name; it makes me feel awkward writing it as a name. That, and I always loved the name Richard! :P  
~Persephone**


	3. Chap 2: Explanations & Clues

The arch lit up with blue energy, becoming a screen very similar to Robin's glove-computer. The screen revealed a triangular symbol as the loading screen, beginning to hum as it started up.

"Whoa," Richard said quietly, tapping his fingers at his sides as the program started.

The woman who'd been directly avoiding the confrontation earlier sat in a seat in between Richard and Aurora's beds, typing on a computer screen right next to their heads.

"What exactly are these things?" asked Aurora, blinking over at Richard as he thought the same question.

The screen over him lit with a pattern that looked suspiciously like a DNA sequence that twisted over and over again. From where he was, Richard could see Aurora's screen looked exactly the same as his.

"You are both inside the _Animus,_" said the man, coming closer to Richard's table to look inside the screen at his face.

"And the _Animus _is….?" asked Aurora, looking perplexed.

"It's a projector that renders genetic memories in three dimensions," said the man, who, now that he was closer, Richard could see that his name-tag said 'Dr. Warren Vidic'.

"Genetic memories?" Richard couldn't help but sound disbelieving; he'd never even heard of this term before.

Vidic snorted. "It seems you're in need of a tutorial," he said with an irritated sigh, making Richard narrow his eyes at him; this guy was easily becoming his least favorite person in the world fast.

"Very well, we'll start simple so that both of you will understand," Vidic continued, glancing over at Aurora as well as he spoke, "What is a memory?"

Aurora wrinkled her nose. "I do not understand how this is relevant," she said, her Italian accent filled with contempt.

Before she could anger Vidic, Richard quickly answered the question, " It's the recollection of a past event."

Vidic beamed at him, as if happy to have a half-competent prisoner. "Specific to the individual remembering the event," he said, nodding his head.

Richard shrugged slightly. "Yeah, sure," he said.

Vidic moved around Richard's table to stand in between him and Aurora, looking at them both. "What if I told you two that the human body not only housed an _individual's_ memory, but the memories of their _ancestors _as well? Genetic memory, if you will. Migration, hibernation, reproduction, how do animals know when and where to go? What to do?"

"That is just animal instinct, is it not?" asked Aurora, one eyebrow raised in a skeptical look.

"Now you're arguing semantics, Ms. stella Rossa; whatever you call it, the fact remains. These creatures hold knowledge absent the requisite first-hand experience. I've spent the past thirty years trying to understand why. I discovered something most fascinating. Our DNA functions as an archive; it contains not only genetic instructions passed down from previous generations, but memories as well. The memories of our ancestors," said Vidic.

The puzzle pieces were starting to make sense to Richard now. "And the _Animus _lets you decode and read these DNA files?" he asked.

Vidic nodded. "Precisely, Mr. Grayson," he said.

Aurora sniffed quietly; this was all a bunch of mumbo jumbo to her, but she said nothing aloud for now.

"But there's a problem," the woman beside Vidic spoke up for the first time, and Richard saw her name-tag clearly; 'Lucy Stillman'.

"_This _is the specific memory we're trying to access, since it appears your ancestors have both been through the same experience," said Lucy, pointing to a spot on the DNA chain floating above Richard and Aurora's heads on the _Animus _glass screen.

"Unfortunately, when we try to open the memory, your minds withdraw; you both lack the confidence to step into your ancestors bodies. That's what happened earlier, when you were both badly shaken up. You got knocked out of the target memory and pushed back to a more stable state," Lucy continued.

"Why?" asked Aurora, blinking at the DNA sequence as it twisted and spiraled above her head.

"It's your subconscious; it's resisting. We found similar reactions among patients who undergo hypnosis to relive traumatic events. They can't jump directly into the specific memory. They need to be eased in, and even then there can be problems…" Lucy trailed off.

"So how do we fix this?" asked Richard, looking at the DNA chain apprehensively.

"We find a memory you can synchronize with, and we move forward from there. You'll get used to it; both of you will," Lucy said, smiling reassuringly at the pair before pointing to another spot on the DNA chain. "This is the closest we can get, so it's where we'll have to start. I'm uploading the tutorial program now; once it begins, you can both get used to moving around in your ancestors bodies. Also, the _Animi_ you're both in are connected, so even when you're both in the past witnessing your ancestors memories, you should both be able to communicate telepathically without your ancestors knowing. Any questions?"

Richard snapped his mouth shut and narrowed his eyes. He still had about a million questions to ask this woman, but with Vidic around he didn't dare.

"Just one," Aurora spoke up from where she had been lying silently, "We shall have to travel back and work as a team in our ancestors bodies, yes?"

Lucy nodded.

Aurora raised her eyebrows, looked at Richard, and shrugged. "It could be worse," she muttered to herself.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~*~AC**

Artemis had to admit, she'd always been a little scared of Batman, but nothing in the world was scarier than Batman when they came back from a mission and _Robin wasn't with them._

The Bat had been so thoroughly pissed off, yet had remained so outwardly stoic, that it had been a terrifying ten minutes for the entire Team minus Robin as they explained what happened at the lab.

"- and we only found these," Kaldur finished, holding up Robin's things along with the gold disc.

Batman's eyes narrowed behind the cowl that covered the top half of his face, and he quickly took the things into his arms. He stared at the golden disk for only a second before he turned away, placing Robin's possessions on a table as he headed for the debriefing room.

Uncertainly, the Team followed him, as he had not dismissed them yet.

As they entered the debriefing room, Batman inserted the disc into one of the computers and let it load into the system.

A strange triangular symbol appeared on screen in front of a blue-white background, then a man appeared afterwards.

The Team plus Batman narrowed their eyes as the man beamed at them in a friendly manner. "Hello. If you're watching this, that means our attempts to get the Boy Wonder were a success. I suspect you're wondering where he is now. Well, don't worry, Bats, he's not dead – _yet, _at least," the man said.

M'gann gasped and covered her mouth while the rest of the Team flinched. Batman just curled his hands silently into fists at his sides.

The man smiled pleasantly. "There's nothing to worry about, my young Justice League; Robin is perfectly safe, unless of course he disobeys my orders….. but I doubt that'll happen, considering I have another hostage for him to worry about as well. Anyway, I can't really go into detail about why I have the boy; none of you would believe me either way, the complexities of this little project would overwhelm you all! But, I should tell you that, as long as the boy doesn't do anything stupid and follows all of my orders, he should be returned to you in a few days, a week tops. And don't bother searching for us; we're quite well hidden, and even if you did manage to find us, we'd simply send the boy into a coma even your telepath couldn't save him from!" he said serenely, before his image slowly dissolved off screen to be replaced by static.

Batman looked livid, despite his efforts to remain emotionless; Artemis could feel the murderous intent coming off of him in waves. "Batman-" Kaldur began, stepping forward – as team leader, he probably felt responsible for the little bird's capture, but before he could say a word, a woman appeared on screen, making all of them but Batman jump in surprise.

"Okay listen, who I am is not important," she began, looking rushed and a bit disheveled, as if she'd done a lot to be able to make this recording, "What _is_ important is my boss; you know as well as I do that he has absolutely no intention of letting Ri-_Robin_ go, so I felt I should do something."

The blonde looked over her shoulder at something or someone off screen before returning her attention to the camera, her blue eyes wide. "The process we're putting Robin and the other prisoner through is highly dangerous for their minds; the last two subjects used in this experiment both went insane and ended up killing themselves a while ago. I can't actually tell you where we are or they'll kill me for sure, but I can tell you this; find Penelope Phillips, she's a colleague of mine. She should be able to give you all the information you need, but I'm telling your right here and now; do _not _attempt to rescue Robin, even if you do find us. His mind will be fragile because of the experiment; if he experiences any unnecessary stress, it could make him even worse! I will handle getting him and the other prisoner out of here; you focus on helping the world like you do every day. Until I can talk with you again; bye!" she said in a rush before the screen returned once again to static.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~*~AC**

** A/N: OMG, SO EXCITING! YAY! Sorry, I freaked out there for a second…. Laters!  
~Persephone**


	4. Chap 3: Tutorials

Richard flinched a little when his vision went white again, but this time he could hear Aurora crying out in surprise too, so it wasn't as bad as last time when he couldn't even hear anything besides the creepy voices.

When he could see again, Richard was surrounded by a dense blue-white mist that he couldn't see through, but what was even more confusing was the fact that he was _older._ Yep. His body was larger than what he was used to, and he was also dressed in a very out-dated white robe with a hood over most of his face that covered his entire head, and armor covering his torso. He wore brown pants and boots underneath that were easy to run in. He had twin metal gauntlets on his wrists that held hidden blades, a sword on a belt at his waist, and straps on his back that held a short dagger and several throwing knives.

"Well, isn't this interesting?" asked a voice, and Richard turned to see a woman, whom he could only assume was Aurora, who was clad in a very similar garb as him, though she had a pouch on her belt as well, most likely to carry money or small supplies.

"Aurora?" Richard asked, and he was shocked at how deep his voice was; which was stupid, he realized a second later. His ancestor _was_ older than him, so it shouldn't be surprising that he was bigger and had a deeper voice. He also noted with slight interest that his voice also carried a strong Arabian accent.

The woman raised an eyebrow, though this was barely visible considering her hood was up as well, and smirked at him. "Well, I can certainly say your genes have definitely not held back on you; you look as attractive as you did in that lab we were just in!" she said with flirty grin at him. Her voice was also different, richer and more feminine, with less of a high pitch.

Richard raised an eyebrow as well and scoffed at her. "Has the Italian girl gained a crush on the young American boy she is being held hostage with?" he asked in a teasing tone.

Aurora waved one hand, snorting disdainfully. "Not even in your dreams, _idiota!_" she said haughtily, and she narrowed her eyes as she continued, "What would be the point? You are Robin, yes? And I am the daughter of an assassin; it wouldn't really work, would it?"

Richard tilted his head as what she said sunk in. That was true – a shame, since she was quite pretty, but true. Bad guys and good guys weren't exactly meant to date; or even be friends.

Aurora rolled her eyes at him. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with, then," she said, stretching her arms over her head and looking upwards, as if expecting something.

Suddenly the world shifted a little, making both Richard and Aurora stumble slightly to the left as their feet fought for balance on the 'ground'.

"**Warning: data stream unstable. Attempting to restore synchronization…**" said a female robotic voice that came from nowhere, and seconds later the ground realigned itself and stayed steady.

"**Welcome: Subject 17, Subject 18. This tutorial has been prepared in order to better acclimate you to the **_**Animus's**_** control system. Instructions will follow shortly…**" the voice came again, and Richard guessed it was some form of AI unit that ran the _Animus _programming.

Two small bars appeared in the top left corner of Richard's vision, almost like a 'life' bar from those survival videogames he played with Wally once in a while.

"**The synchronization bar you both see represents how in synch you are with your ancestor's memories. If either of you ever fall completely out of synch, the **_**Animus **_**will restore you to your last synchronized position. You are both currently dangerously close to desynchronization. Please follow all forthcoming instructions in order to restore system stability,**" said the AI.

Richard and Aurora shared a look of surprise. It sounded simple enough.

"**The **_**Animus **_**utilizes a puppeteering concept to control the actions of your ancestor. I'm loading subroutines to validate your body's adaptation to the **_**Animus.**_** We will begin by exploring the default actions of each movement you make,**" the AI said, and the world turned white for a second before Richard could see again, and this time he was surrounded on all sides by small groups of people. They seemed to be conversing, but no sound came out of their mouths.

"Curiouser and curiouser," murmured Aurora as she took a few shaky steps to stand on his left side.

"**While standing still, carefully turn your heads to observe your environment. Take a few moments to allow yourself to get used to this, for your ancestor's bodies are not what your brains are used to functioning in,**" AI advised them.

Richard twitched his face slightly, blinking several times to get used to the muscles before slowly making his head turn. It felt bizarre, to be moving a body he wasn't familiar with, but hey, if this was what it took to get himself out of all of this alive, he'd play along.

Aurora seemed to have a crick in her neck, which made moving harder, but eventually she was able to completely turn her head from side to side like normal.

"**Good,**" complimented the AI before their vision turned white again, revealing a wide open space. "**Now, to get used to moving the rest of your body, you may practice walking and running here….**"

**YJ~*~*~*~*~*~AC**

** A/N: This took forever to write for some reason, and I didn't feel like doing the _entire f-ing tutorial,_ so this is all you get for now. See ya later!  
~Persephone**


	5. Chap 4: Finding Her

Batman, a.k.a. Bruce Wayne, was not happy; not happy _at all._

The disc that contained the recording of the woman who apparently was trying to save his adopted son's life and the man who wanted to end it instead held no fingerprints on it besides those of Kid Flash and Aqualad, and the dead-ends of the search were beginning to annoy him – a lot.

The security cameras at the lab the Team had been sent to infiltrate had been deactivated by Robin's expert hacking abilities, leaving the security guards almost entirely unaware of their entrance and unfortunately also kept Bruce from seeing what happened when he was taken. Had he been taken by surprise? Outmatched in a fight? Had he been _hurt?_

Bruce breathed deeply through his nose as the thoughts of endless possible scenarios for the situation ran through his head as he leaned over the keyboard of the computer in the Batcave, trying to find his young adopted son and failing every time he thought of some way to get the information he needed.

It had been several hours; Bruce had already told the Team to wait in Mount Justice just in case any word came, but now he was compelled to send them back to the lab, look for more clues at the site of the kidnapping. Then again, they _really _didn't need anymore problems with the Abstergo company; if the Justice League or their protégés went snooping about and got caught, they'd execute Richard for sure.

Rubbing a hand over his face in a rare sign of fatigue, Bruce turned his tired gaze from the main computer to one of the side screens, which was currently tracking down the name of the woman the blonde one had mentioned in the video; Penelope Philips.

Apparently, this woman was a natural sneak, because the computer was having a hard time tracking her down. It had narrowed down the search grid and placed her somewhere in Star City, but Bruce had no desire to head there just yet, until the search had her exact location; Green Arrow would be wondering what he was doing in his city, and Bruce didn't want to tell him Robin had been kidnapped. He'd already forbidden the Team from telling the League, hoping not to bring any unwanted attention to the matter. He worked best either on his own or with Robin, and this was something that would never change.

"**Location found,**" the computer suddenly said, bringing up a map of Star City and marking a point on the map.

Bruce couldn't help a wide smirk from coming over his features; it seemed he'd finally gotten a lucky break on this case.

Suddenly his comm. link chirped in his ear. "_Batman? Any sign of Robin yet?_" asked Aqualad through the connection, making Bruce cringe. Great. They'd want to come along now too. Then again, this _was _Robin's team….. they deserved to help find their missing comrade.

Letting out a silently annoyed huff of air, he responded, "Yes. That woman, Penelope Philips from the video, I found her in Star City. If you want to help, meet me there in half an hour. Be discreet."

After this, Bruce deactivated his comm. and pulled the hood back over his face, becoming the Batman once more. It was about time he went out and found his protégé, with or without the help he'd been offered.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~AC**

** A/N: SO SHORT! DAMN IT! Sorry, my mind… kept tap-dancing away from the subject at hand, so I couldn't make this chapter very good or very long, so….. _Ciao!_ See you next week!_  
_~Persephone**


	6. Chap 5: Contact

Kid Flash, a.k.a. Wally West, was so eager yet impatient that he had begun vibrating in his seat in the bioship, his molecules moving rapidly at hyper-speed as he waited for their arrival in Star City.

"Dude, chill out! We're almost there!" advised Artemis, who was staring apprehensively at him as his chair began to smoke slightly from the friction he was creating.

Wally slowed down a little and glared at her. "I can't 'chill out'! This is _Robin! _I don't care how good you are; there is _no way _any one of _us_ could take him down, let alone knock him unconscious and kidnap him, so forgive me for being a little concerned for him! Whoever these bastards are that took him, they've gotta be pretty damn good!" he snapped, worry for his friend making him short-tempered and snappy.

Artemis flinched, her eyes wide. She'd never seen Wally like this before. He was always cracking a joke, making fun of her outfit or picking on her for being 'annoying', as he called it. But now, without the Team's youngest member around, he acted completely different. 'We need to find Robin; _fast,_' Artemis decided silently, directing her gaze back out the bioship window to avoid looking at the speedster.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~*~AC**

Half an hour later, the Team plus Batman found that locating Penelope Philips in Star City was quite easy, actually. Apparently she ran a bookstore/library/coffee shop place just about five minutes outside of the main city.

It was well past 7:00 when they arrived, so the store was closing. Artemis hid in the alleyway outside the shop with Kid Flash beside her, the others all scattered about in other locations to keep an eye on the place.

'_Just wait until the shop is closed and I give the order. Understood?_' asked Batman through the mind-link, courtesy of M'gann.

'_Roger!_'

'_Understood._'

'_Affirmative!_'

'_Right._'

'_Yes sir,_' said Artemis, not daring to be sassy with the Dark Knight like she usually was with the rest of the Team.

They didn't need to wait long. A woman with long black hair in a high ponytail eventually chased the last two customers out, and Artemis could hear her saying to them, "Just come back tomorrow! I need to get some sleep; find somewhere else to make-out!"

The young couple blushed, stammering quickly, but the woman just grinned and waved them off, and as soon as they started walking away, she shut the shop door and turned the 'open' sign to 'closed', and began moving about the shop, cleaning everything up, looking for the entire world like she was just a normal person. But that video suggested otherwise.

'_I'll go in alone first. You all stay out here until I give the OK,_' said Batman. His tone of voice gave no room for argument, and the Dark Knight of Gotham got moving.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~*~AC**

Penny collected several books off of the tables around the main sitting room of her shop, left there from customers who'd been rushed out or had been too lazy to put them back where they came from.

'Lazy jerks,' Penny thought as she sighed and picked up a science fiction novel about Mars. She stared at the cover, which depicted a man getting attacked by a gigantic Martian alien, and shook her head in exasperation. "Please," she muttered with a snort, adding it to the pile of books in her arms.

Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the rows of bookshelves and put each one back in place, taking her time with the task as a presence appeared in the shadows of her shop behind her.

"Why the ninja stealth?" she spoke up, "I'm not going to bite you, ya' know."

If it had been anyone else, they would've jumped sky-high and demanded to know how in the freaking hell she'd sensed them so quickly, but Batman remained completely emotionless as he stepped out into view.

Penny turned toward him, not looking the least bit surprised that he was there, and crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you going to tell me why you decided to come into my shop afterhours, or am I going to have to guess?" she asked smoothly, quirking a dark eyebrow over her hazel eyes.

Batman wasn't fazed by her attitude. "You should already know why I'm here, Ms. Philips," he said, his voice it's usual low growl.

Penny sniffed and opened her eyes wide, tilting her head to the side. "The Boy Wonder was taken already?" she asked, making Batman's eyes widen slightly beneath the cowl, "Funny. I thought they'd wait another week or two. They must've gotten impatient."

"How much do you know?" Batman growled, mistrust lacing his voice. If this woman was working with Abstergo, she'd know _exactly where Robin was._

Penny glanced over his shoulder, out the shop window. "Invite your little friends inside and I'll tell you as much as you need to know," she said with a serene smile before turning back to the shop tables, collecting coffee mugs and cups as if nothing had happened to interrupt her work.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~*~AC**

** A/N: Yes! Penny is my fave OC for this story so far! WHOO! Anyway, sorry, still no Robin in this chap! And also, this isn't my best chapter, but hey, I got it done, didn't I?  
~Persephone**


	7. Chap 6: To Kill

Richard stared in horrified shock at the scene in front of him. The computer had brought up a random scene, a building with a guard standing nearby, and now he was supposed to…. to….

"What is the matter?" Aurora spoke up from behind him, her eyebrow quirked and a calm look on her face. "Is there a problem?"

Richard's face took on an uncharacteristic look of panic. "Yes something's wrong! I'm supposed to _kill _him!" he yelped, pointing at the man in front of them who remained oblivious to their presence.

Aurora quirked an eyebrow once more, a look of surprise crossing her face. "That is the problem? Why?" she asked, tilting her head in honest curiosity.

Richard turned to her, incredulous. "I'm supposed to take another human being's _life!_ You find nothing wrong with that? !" he exclaimed.

Aurora shrugged, leaning all of her weight onto one foot to put one hip out to the side in a fashion model-type of pose, smiling dryly at him. "You seem to forget, _idiota, _that I am the daughter of an assassin. Killing people, though I have never done it before, does not bother me in the slightest," she said, waving one hand in an 'I-don't-care' gesture.

Richard couldn't keep a grimace off of his face, though he quickly removed it and put on an expressionless mask, Batman-style. "I made an oath a long time ago to _never _take a person's life. This doesn't change that," he said, his eyes narrowing in defiance.

Aurora's eyes seemed to take on a dark look. "I do not know if you have noticed this yet, _amico mio ingenui, _but this world we are in now is not even real, and this machine only shows us what has _already happened._ Even if you slit this man's throat, slice off his head, rip out his heart, whatever you feel is necessary, you will not _kill _anybody. This world isn't real, and what we are seeing are either illusions or memories of the past. We aren't killing anyone; this is just fake, all of it, no matter how real it might seem," she stated evenly, not even batting an eyelash or trying to make it easier for him. She just put it all out there.

Richard blinked, contemplating this. This world wasn't real…. For a second there, he'd forgotten that this was indeed true. This body felt so real; this _whole place _seemed real, and yet it wasn't. Vaguely at the back of his mind, Richard made a note to get his hands on some of this _Animus _tech once he was out of this mess; whoever had built this was a _genius._

Still….. that changed nothing. Richard shook his head again. "I made an oath, and even if this place isn't real, I cannot take another person's life. That's just the way it is," he stated clearly, hoping that those Abstergo idiots were listening to him at the moment.

Aurora snorted, leaning back a little and laughing, her voice high-pitched and bordering hysterical for a few moments before she calmed down enough to look him in the eye, her face filled with a sly, if not sympathetic, smirk. "You _deficiente! _Do you not see what is in front of your very eyes! You are young and naïve! You and your foolish mentor!" she laughed a little harshly.

Richard rounded on her, anger etched on his face, but she cut him off before he even began:

"Have you and Batman ever considered what the world would be like if the Joker were dead already? If Two-Face and Scarecrow were six feet under instead of reeking havoc on the unsuspecting public? If Bane, Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Ra's al Ghul, Blockbuster, and all of the others, were rotting in a sewer instead of planning more and more elaborate crimes that could get people killed? Have you _ever _considered that? !" she snarled directly in his face, all hints of playfulness and friendliness gone from her eyes.

Richard could only stop and stare at her. She was completely different from the girl he'd seen not a minute before. She was cold, dark, calculating, smart- and, scariest of all, she was absolutely _right._

The second he even began taking in what she said, her words began to make more and more sense the more he thought about it.

"From these outfits, I am guessing our ancestors are from the Middle Ages, perhaps during the Crusades, and from the wide array of weapons we are wearing, I am assuming we are some sort of 'assassins-for-hire'. So, even if _you _do not kill, it is in your blood to do so. What do you say to that? Will you deny your heritage, you _traditore? ! _Or will you rise up to your ancestor's legacy and become the thing you were born to be? Answer me that!" Aurora demanded. Then, as if instantaneously deciding that he needed to think her tirade over, she turned and stalked off to another part of the _Animus,_ disappearing within the white mist and leaving Richard to stare after her dumbly in shock.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~*~AC**

** A/N: WHAT? ! OVER ALREADY? ! Yes, yes it is. Sorry! Oh well. Tell me what you liked and didn't like about it, OK?  
****Did I like writing this chapter? No, not really. Was it important? Yes, because our little Robin needs to learn to kill if he expects to be an Assassin. Did you guys like this chapter? Because honestly I didn't, not really…**  


**Aurora's Italian translations:  
****_Idiota _= idiot  
****_Amico mio ingenui _= my naïve friend  
****_Deficiente _= moron  
****_Traditore _= traitor**

**P.S. I will now only update this story on Sundays. Sorry!**

**~Persephone**


	8. Chap 7: Martian

The Team, minus Robin and plus Batman, sat in silence on the leather couches of the coffee shop, just out of sight of the front windows and waiting for the ebony-haired woman to sit down, but she continued cleaning her shop even after they'd all entered. She swiped a stray strand of hair out of her face, wrinkling her nose at it since it had come out of her ponytail, and placed the last of the coffee mugs into the large dishwasher and turned it on before turning back to her silent, impatient audience.

"Well now," she said, her mouth screwing up in a look of contemplation as she sat down across from them on a plush chair, "Where to begin?"

"How about at the beginning?" asked Artemis, growing frustrated with all the time they were wasting there.

Kaldur shot her a disapproving look but said nothing, not wanting to get the woman distracted and off-topic.

Penny stretched leisurely, taking her time and looking up at the ceiling as if thinking. "Yes, that always is the best place to start a story, huh?" she asked, directing her gaze back at the Team with mirth twinkling in her eyes.

Nobody laughed; if anything, her words only made Kid Flash shift impatiently and Batman narrow his eyes at her in a silent, almost threatening manner.

The laughter faded from Penny's eyes and she sat up straighter, blinking at them with a look of…. Sympathy? Understanding? Artemis couldn't place it.

"Well, the first thing you should know is that I am- er, I _was _a member of a research team working for the Abstergo company. Our area of expertise lay in the field of studying genetics and natural instincts in an animal, how they knew what to do, where to go, how to do things, etc, etc. Anyway, some time ago, my team discovered something quite interesting; the human body does not just store an individual's memory, but their _ancestor's _memories as well. Genetic memory, if you will," she said, unknowingly repeating her former employer's words from earlier.

Nobody moved for a few seconds, but finally Miss Martian tilted her head to the side and let out a disbelieving "_Huh? !_"

"My thoughts exactly!" Kid Flash exclaimed, waving his arms in a wide arc as if to ask, 'has-the-world-gone-nuts?'

Penny waved her hands in a placating manner to calm him down. "Now, now, let me explain! You see, my employer gave us the challenge to figure out how animal's gained their instincts when they'd never used a specific skill before, and this is what we came up with; the DNA of an animal, human being or otherwise, stores it's ancestor's memories inside it. Though we can never see these memories without some _serious _modifications, we _feel _them, therein allowing us to use some skills we've never used before to do something our ancestor's have also done. Are you still following this, or should I slow down?" she suddenly interrupted herself, scanning her small audience as if making sure they could understand everything she was saying.

M'gann, Wally, and Superboy all looked completely lost; Artemis managed to keep her confused thoughts on the inside and not look like an idiot; Kaldur had placed his fingers together in a look of silent contemplation; Batman hadn't moved an inch, though his eyes had hardened slightly, as if searching for the relevance relating what she was saying to Robin's disappearance.

"Keep going," the Bat answered her, cutting off Wally before he could make another unnecessary exclamation. Wally looked ready to speak anyway, but one look from the Bat-glare made him shut his mouth as quickly as he opened it.

Penny's lips twitched slightly at the edges, as if suppressing a smile from showing itself, before she opened her mouth once again, "Well, let's just say that Abstergo discovered a way to make those serious modifications. My _wonderful_ employer, Dr. Warren Vidic, and a handful of researchers, myself included, worked on a secret project; the _Animus, _a special device that allows an individual to witness their own genetic memories in three dimensions, thus successfully allowing a person to witness their ancestor's entire lives in a matter of days, or even hours. The project was a success, and after finishing it Vidic allowed me to leave Abstergo while he killed the rest of the researchers."

M'gann gasped and covered her mouth with one hand; Kaldur and Wally flinched; Conner and Artemis stared at her, eyes wide; Batman had stiffened his posture, looking livid.

"Why would he kill them all and leave you alive?" he demanded. What was so special about this woman?

Penny smiled, giving a sheepish smile as if this was a normal thing in her life. "He didn't exactly _let _me get out; I had to _force _my way out. It was quite easy to get away, actually; being a Martian certainly helped, of course even though it did give my identity away to those bastards," she said, shrugging nonchalantly as if commenting about the weather.

The whole Team froze. They remained motionless for several minutes, eyes darting from Penny to M'gann and back again, unable to believe what the older woman had just said. It was a tense few minutes before Penny blinked and coughed a little, as if trying to diffuse the situation of its severe atmosphere.

Penny shrugged again. "There's no point in keeping it a secret from you people; if I'm going to help you, you're going to need to know as much as you can about me, right?" she asked, grinning widely as her pale white skin turned green and her green eyes darkened to a startling violet.

Reaching a hand forward in a handshake, she smiled at them politely. "Let's reintroduce ourselves, alright? My name is P'nell O'pephil, a Green Martian, and I am here to help you and the Justice League in any way I can to find Robin," she said.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~*~AC**

** A/N: And NOW you see why I love Penny, right? This was a stupid place to end it, but I'm listening to the Assassin's Creed 2 soundtrack…. and…. it makes me wanna cry… *sniffles* Bye!  
~Persephone**


	9. Chap 8: History Lesson

Nobody moved, nobody _breathed,_ for at least a full minute and a half, all of them just staring uncomprehendingly at Penny's now green hand. Then Wally let out a low whistle of disbelief. "Wasn't expecting that one," he said quietly.

Penny gave a small smile. "I don't think any of you were; not even the ever-vigilant, all-knowing Batman over here," she said, gesturing to said Bat with her extended hand before dropping it back to her side.

Batman's mouth thinned into a straight line. "This explains how you got out alive, but nothing you've said makes any sense to the case at hand; why was Robin taken by Abstergo?" he asked. Batman wasn't usually one for impatience, and all of this was quite interesting (Batman made a mental note to look into Abstergo even more now), but none of it explained why Robin was kidnapped or where he was now.

Penny, or P'nell, leaned back in her chair slightly, tapping her temple. "Aha! But that is where you are wrong, Batman! _Everything _I've said is all relevant to Robin's disappearance!" she crowed, throwing her arms wide as if to prove her point.

"How?" asked Conner.

P'nell glanced once over to the windows of the coffee shop. They – the Team, Batman, and her – were all sitting in a spot in the shop where it'd be hard to see them, but she shook her head regardless.

"Not here. If by some miracle someone sees us that would be _bad. _I have a place where we can talk; come on!" she said, getting to her feet and floating – _floating _– toward a door that looked like an ordinary storage closet. However, with a twist of the knob, P'nell revealed a secret staircase leading down beneath the shop. "Quickly now! If I'm seen and reported, Abstergo will be all over my ass before I can tell you a thing!" she hissed, her voice dropping volume to remain somewhat discreet.

The Team exchanged glances, but Batman did what she said, eager to finally get some information on where his son was. As the Team began to follow him down, P'nell transformed back into Penny and quickly finished closing up the shop, turning off the lights and locking the front door before following them herself, transforming back as she walked down the stairs.

When they reached the bottom of the staircase, Artemis couldn't help but stop and stare; this place was _huge. _A whole collection of medieval-era armor and weaponry lined one wall under stone statues of different men and women all wearing similar outfits with wide hoods that covered the top half of their faces, with the fanciest and most highly cared for armor under the statues of a man and a woman on the far side of the room. They seemed important, but Artemis couldn't for the life of her guess why. The rest of the artifacts were polished, but clearly not as cared for.

On the one wall that didn't have any statues on it was a huge computer of clear alien-origins, with a circular screen and strange symbols all over the keypad. M'gann immediately began to fly over to it to inspect it, but Kaldur put a hand up, signaling for her to stay back. She obeyed, albeit sulkily.

P'nell led the way over to the computer and began typing on its keys, bringing up several pictures of machines that were built into tables. "These are _Animi, _or at least the early designs for them. I do not know if they have changed them or not. Anyway, Abstergo isn't the main problem; they're only a part of this mess. You see, Abstergo is led by members of an….. organization called the Templar's. The Templar's seek to gain world domination, and they're using Robin to do it," P'nell said, gesturing to several pictures of the leaders of Abstergo, all of them wearing crosses they clearly didn't believe in.

"Um….. I'm sorry, but how is _Robin _supposed to help them gain world domination?" asked Wally, perplexed.

P'nell glanced at him, then looked at the rest of the confused faces around her. "You do not know Robin's true identity, do you?" she asked.

This of course made everyone freeze once again in surprise at her seemingly random question, and Batman looked absolutely pissed. "How exactly is that relevant? !" he snarled at her; he wanted answers already, damn it!

P'nell held up her hands in a placating gesture. "Whoa, whoa, calm down! This is relevant, because one of Robin's ancestors discovered something important to the Templar's many centuries ago, so they kidnapped Robin and are now forcing him to use the _Animus _to find exactly where that thing is. That's all I really know, seriously!" she stated quickly.

Artemis tilted her head at the Martian quizzically. "So, they want to use Robin to find out where an artifact is?" she asked. P'nell nodded. "Well, why couldn't they just find it the old-fashioned way; look? !" she asked.

P'nell smiled grimly. "Honey, the Templar's don't work that way; they take the easy way out in everything they do. Besides, it's been hidden for nearly entire millennia. Do you really think they'd find it without Robin's help?" she asked, lifting one eyebrow and smirking.

"So…. Which one of Robin's ancestors found this artifact? What did he do; was he some sort of crime fighter too?" asked Wally jokingly, grinning at M'gann as if trying to make her laugh, though she stayed silent.

P'nell's face lit up. "Oh, he's right over there!" she said, pointing to the statue of the man on the far wall, the one that was a little bigger than the others. Wally's mouth dropped open in shock as P'nell continued, "And, I don't think you can call it crime fighting, exactly, but _that _particular ancestor was an Assassin. He hunted Templar's, who existed even back then," she stated before pointing to the woman's statue. "And that is his partner. Together, those two were completely unstoppable, according to the history books anyway. They both killed hundreds of Templar's and saved even more lives by doing so. Their names were Altaïr ibn La'Ahad and Amani Al-Hannachi, and they were the most legendary Assassins of their time; perhaps of all time, even. Their only living descendants include Ri- ahem, _Robin, _and a girl named Aurora stella Rossa. Both went missing not a day and a half ago. My guess? Abstergo got a hold of them both."

"Should we not rescue them as soon as possible? I mean, before Abstergo finds where the artifacts are?" asked Kaldur, his silver eyes scanning the screen in front of him swiftly.

P'nell slowly shook her head. "Those artifacts are important not only to the Templar's, but to the Assassin's Brotherhood as well. They didn't survive for longer than a whole millennia just to have the artifact taken away from them again. We _need _to find out where it is, and we have an agent working on the inside of Abstergo right at this minute. She'll keep an eye on those two and make sure they're alright. In the mean time, I think it's about time I introduced you and the Justice League to the rest of the Brotherhood; once you meet, you should be able to work out a plan of action. Do you think we can do that?" P'nell asked, tilting her head to Batman.

Batman let out a long, slow breath that none of the Team besides Superboy could hear before reaching up and tapping his communicator. "Batman to Watchtower. I think we may have a lead on Robin's whereabouts….."

**YJ~*~*~*~*~AC**

** A/N: Hurray! The JL and the Brotherhood are gonna meet! This is gonna be SWEET! Anyway, next chap should (hopefully) go back to Robin and Aurora, so sit tight!  
~Persephone**


	10. Chap 9: Continuing Lessons

Richard flinched as the throwing knife dug its way into his target's skull, 'killing' the guard instantly and sending the virtual body sprawling to the floor.

"So you decided to man up, eh?" asked a voice behind him, making him jump and spin around. Aurora stood behind him, dragging the body of her own kill on the ground with one arm like a sack of potatoes. She dropped it at her side carelessly.

"I see you had no problem killing someone," Richard said, his voice a bit ragged. He'd had to think through their situation over for an entire _hour _before he could even _consider_ killing the guard, but finally, Aurora's words about all of this being fake made their argument clear, and he'd finally pulled out a throwing knife. With a sort of grim epiphany, Richard realized that this was probably no different than killing in a videogame; it wasn't real, after all.

Aurora sniffed disdainfully as she examined her victim, not seeming bothered in the least. "It is like a movie, no? Or a videogame perhaps," she said, tapping her chin before shrugging.

"**Once someone is killed, the dead body will alert any surviving guards that there is an Assassin nearby,**" the AI system suddenly spoke up, making Richard turn to see a guard kneeling beside the one he'd just killed. "**Warning: if any aggressive actions or socially unacceptable behavior is undertaken at this time, they will likely provoke an armed response.**"

"Oh dear, look at what you got us into!" Aurora exclaimed, gesturing to the living guard as he got to his feet with his sword drawn and at the ready.

"How is this my fault? ! You're the one who told me to do it!" Richard exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at the Italian-turned-Arabian girl in front of him.

"**Provoke this guard,**" the AI instructed, making both young Assassins look up in surprise.

"Um, I thought these were supposed to be covert assassinations, not assassinations where we are supposed to get caught!" Aurora exclaimed, backing up a little from the living guard.

Suddenly the guard noticed the body near them, and he leapt forward, yelling, "Assassins! Don't let them get away!"

"Eep!" Aurora squeaked spinning around and running with Richard not far behind her.

"Nicely done, oh 'assassin expert'!" Richard said sarcastically.

"Shut it! At least I didn't act like a total girl about killing someone!" Aurora shot back.

Before Richard could snap a retort, the AI spoke up again, "**Use the ladder up ahead to try and break the line of sight. Once out of sight of the guard, find a hiding place until he gives up looking for you.**"

A virtual building appeared, with a ladder leading up to the top. Richard and Aurora shared a glance before they both shot up onto the building, Aurora using the ladder and Richard climbing the wall like a spider. Once at the top, the guard's yells became frantic, calling for help in finding the Assassins.

"Over here!" Richard called to Aurora before jumping into a rooftop garden that was framed on all sides by curtains. Aurora slipped in beside him, landing right next to him as if they'd been doing this a lot and they knew just what to do. They both held their breaths as they heard the guard appear and run around them, looking for them.

Finally, after several minutes of searching, he growled, "To hell with this! I've got better things to do!" And so, the guard disappeared back over the side of the building, leaving the pair of Assassins to sit in their hiding place, grinning at each other like a couple of idiots.

"We're alive!" Aurora cheered quietly, high-fiving Richard like he was an old friend.

"Miraculously, yes. We are," Richard sighed before carefully climbing back out of the garden, Aurora following him quickly.

"**Congratulations. You are now both fully synched,**" the AI said, and their vision turned white again before they appeared on the 'ground', with people lined up in front of them. "**Now that you are fully synchronized with your ancestors, the Eagle Vision ability is now available to you. This 'sixth sense' was a special, rare ability, and it helped your ancestors understand the intentions of people around them. To activate it, simply focus all of your concentration into your eyes, and it should activate. Once you have done it once, it should happen on command from this moment on,**" the AI stated.

Richard and Aurora exchanged a skeptical glance. Richard shrugged and turned back to the row of people, staring at them intently and concentrating as hard as he could. The world suddenly went dark, and a strange aura surrounded the people; red, white, blue, and yellow.

"**Very good. When Eagle Vision is active, you may see a persons intentions or their status. The people with white auras are good for information. The red auras mean they are an enemy, or they will do you harm if you do anything rash. The blue aura means they are an ally of your. The yellow aura means they are your target for assassination,**" the AI explained before Richard slowly allowed his Eagle Vision to dissipate, and he blinked to get used to normal vision again.

"That was weird…. But also very cool!" Aurora exclaimed, rubbing her eyes with one hand.

Their vision turned white again and the people in front of them disappeared. "**Remember, Eagle Vision will only be available once you are fully synched with your ancestor. Please note that following the Assassin's Creed, your ancestor's way of life, will assist you with staying in synch. The Creed consists of three tenants; first, never hurt an innocent person; second, always be discreet; third, do not compromise the clan. Should you lose synch, you can restore synchronization by reliving key moments in your ancestor's lives, or, by respecting the Creed,**" the AI said.

"Well, that shouldn't be too hard!" Richard said with a wide grin.

Aurora wrinkled her nose at him but didn't comment.

"**You have both successfully completed the tutorial. The most stable memory block will now be loaded,**" said AI.

Richard and Aurora exchanged glances once again. "You ready for this?" asked Richard.

Aurora shrugged. "Are you?" she asked right back.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~AC**

**A/N: NO! IT ENDS HERE? ! ? ! ? ! Yes, yes it does. Ugh! I am so cruel with cliffhangers! *snickers* Anyway, tell me what you liked and didn't like! P.S. The story will focus mainly on these two for a while, but I should get back to the Team sometime soon for those who want to know.  
~Persephone**


	11. Chap 10: Beginning

**A/N: Wow. It certainly has been a while, huh? Sorry about the huge wait; for my loyal fans, you know about the virus that wiped my computer, but luckily, when I was scrolling through my dad's old laptop I found this chapter and a few other files still intact on it. I just found the files today, so sorry for the massive wait! I may not update this story again for a while (sorry), but I'm heading onto other priorities now. I will try to update this again soon, though!**

**YJ~*~*~*~*~AC**

Their vision turned white once again, but this time the _Animus _triangle symbol was just visible to Richard as images of buildings and towns flashed before his eyes in a chaotic swirl, moving too quickly for him to see clearly.

Finally, the images slowed down, and Richard felt his body moving of its own accord, without him giving directions. Flinching inwardly, he realized this must be a specific memory, where something was _supposed _to happen, so he couldn't control his ancestor right now. 'This is _so _weird,' he thought.

"Wait! There must be another way!" a slightly deep man's voice said nearby, "This one need not die!" Richard's vision snapped into focus as he watched his ancestor-self suddenly run up behind a man a stab him forcefully in the neck, killing him instantly. He dropped the body to the ground and turned to his three companions; two men, whose names he knew were Malik and Kadar Al-Sayf, and a woman, named Amani Al-Hannachi, fellow members of the Assassin Brotherhood.

Amani wrinkled her nose in a familiar way at the blood staining her brown boots, raising her eyebrows at her old-time partner in crime. "An excellent kill. Fortune certainly favors your blade," she said, though she sounded a bit sarcastic.

Richard – no, _Altaïr, _smirked at her and said, "Not fortune; skill. Watch a while longer and you might learn something."

Amani scoffed at his words, but she could not form a witty remark as Malik spoke up, "Indeed, he'll teach you how to disregard everything the Master taught us."

Altaïr glared at him, narrowing his eyes at his other comrade. "And how would _you _have done it?" he asked haughtily, giving him a skeptical glance. Amani and Kadar shared a look, as if to say, 'here-we-go-again'.

"_I _would not have drawn attention to us; _I _would not have taken the life of an _innocent,_" Malik said, gesturing to the dead man on the floor harshly, "What _I _would have done is follow the Creed!"

Altaïr gave him a 'look', which closely resembled a Bat-glare. "Nothing is true; everything is permitted. Understand these words. It matters not how we complete our task, only that it's done," he said. Amani mouthed the words along with him, as if she'd heard them a hundred times before; which she had, but Altaïr ignored her antics as Malik shook his head.

"But that is not the way of-!" he began, but Altaïr cut him off lowly.

"_My _way is better," he said, stopping Malik short.

Malik clamped his mouth shut, looking from Altaïr and Amani, his senior Assassins, to Kadar, barely above novice level. Shaking his head, he turned down the tunnel and said, "I will scout ahead. Try not to dishonor us further."

Altaïr snorted as Malik disappeared down the tunnel. Kadar looked at him hesitantly, and Altaïr remembered that, as a nearly novice-level Assassin, he had not been informed of their true purpose in the tunnels.

"What is our mission? My brother would say nothing to me, only that I should have been honored to have been invited," he asked politely, ignoring the echoing growl from his older sibling farther ahead of them.

Amani stretched her arms above her head. "The Master believes that the Templar's have found something beneath the Temple Mount," she said, her Arabian accent thick with excitement despite her calm demeanor.

"Treasure?" asked Kadar, looking from one senior-class Assassin to the other.

"We do not know. All that matters is that the Master considers it important, 'else he would not have asked us to retrieve it," Altaïr stated evenly.

Suddenly, everything came into focus completely, and Richard could move his body now. He was no longer watching; that must mean the important moment was over. 'I thought we weren't supposed to kill innocents!' he exclaimed in his head, grimacing mentally at the blood on his ancestor's hands.

"_That is also what I thought, but I guess our ancestors think a little differently from us,_" sighed a voice, and it took all of Richard's training to keep from jumping in surprise at Aurora's telepathic message.

'H-how-?' he began, but Aurora cut him off.

"_I don't know; I guess since we are not allowed to communicate as ourselves during these sessions, we were linked telepathically by the _Animus _to allow us to speak normally, since these are memories and we can't exactly speak our minds considering all of this already happened and we cannot actually speak,_" Aurora said in a rush.

Richard realized she was right; they were watching memories, things that had already happened long ago, so he couldn't control what he said or did at points, no matter how much he wanted to.

Taking a breath, he began moving down the tunnel, Amani behind him like she always was. Richard would've grinned at his life-long partner in crime, but Altaïr kept a straight face, not even looking at her twice as he walked past her and Kadar.

'Geez, my ancestor sucks!' Richard exclaimed loudly to Aurora.

"_Yes, he is a bit of a jackass, isn't he?_' Aurora commented, her Italian accent thick with amusement.

'Shut it,' Richard shot back at her, making her laugh.

The tunnel floor dropped away suddenly in front of them, revealing a steep drop with several wooden beams leading across. Without stopping to gain speed, Altaïr jumped from one to the other, not fazed in the slightest at the height he could've fallen from. Amani and Kadar followed after him shortly, though Kadar looked a little adrenalized from the experience.

Altaïr jumped over more beams and landed on the far side of the chasm, stopping in front a sharp dead-end wall. A ladder led onwards, and he had no problem using it to climb upwards.

Once at the top, he spotted a guard with his back towards him, not even noticing the Assassin he was supposed to be on the lookout for. Smirking to himself, Altaïr walked forward stealthily, letting his right wrist-blade slide out of its sheath. Coming up behind the man, Altaïr reached out, slapping a hand over his mouth before driving the blade through his windpipe. He bled to death seconds later as he fell to the ground.

Without even looking at the man twice, Amani, Malik, and a hesitant Kadar walked ahead of Altaïr, ignoring the guard as they entered the doorway he'd been guarding. Altaïr followed, and all four of them came out to a large room, standing on a ledge overlooking a treasure room of sorts.

"There!" Malik exclaimed, pointing one hand at a large golden object on the far side of the room about a story below their ledge, "That must be the Ark!"

"The…. Ark?" questioned Kadar, his mouth wide in shock. "-of the _Covenant?_"

Amani scoffed at his stunned expression. "Don't be silly! There's no such thing! It's just a story!"

"Then what is it?" Malik asked, raising an eyebrow at her as the golden casket glowed silently in the light of several torches.

Suddenly, a rustling of armor could be heard down the hallway on the right side of the Ark. "Quiet! Someone's coming!" Malik exclaimed, pulling Kadar back from the edge of their location to hide a little behind a pillar. Amani did the same with Altaïr, and they watched as a group of Templar's appeared next to the Ark of Covenant.

Their leader pointed to the gold object. "I want this through this gate before sunrise! The sooner we possess it, the sooner we can turn our attention to those jackals at Masyaf!" he snarled, pointing roughly at the Ark.

Altaïr felt his blood boil at the mention of his home, the headquarters of the Assassin Brotherhood located in a small village not terribly far from here. "Robert de Sable!" he snarled under his breath, knowing exactly who it was that spoke so bitterly against the Brotherhood, "His life is mine!"

"No!" Malik hissed to him, giving him a glare worthy of the Bat himself. "We were asked to retrieve the treasure and deal with Robert if only necessary."

"He stands between us and it!" Altaïr shot back at him, "I'd say it's necessary!"

"Discretion, Altaïr!" Malik exclaimed.

"You mean cowardice? That man is our _greatest enemy, _and here we have a chance to be rid of him!" Altaïr snapped.

Malik grimaced. "You have already broken two tenets of our Creed. Now you would break the third! Do _not _compromise the Brotherhood!" he said.

"I am your superior; in both title and ability! You should know better than to question me!" Altaïr snarled. Beside him, Amani gave him a sideways glance, then shrugged, unwilling to back-talk with her comrade.

'Wow. Thank God _I'm_ not like this!' Richard thought, shaking his head quietly.

"_Perhaps your ancestor is not the best role-model after all, hmm?_' suggested Aurora her voice a bit strangled with apprehension. She didn't like this guy. At all.

Altaïr moved down a ladder onto the same level as the Ark and the Templar's unnoticed, like a shadow in the night. Amani followed, with Malik and Kadar right behind her, though Malik was glaring like a basilisk at his 'senior'. Altaïr ignored him though, moving toward his target stealthily.

Coming into the light of the torches, he called out to them, "Hold, Templers! You are not the only ones with business here!"

"Ah, well this explains my missing man!" Robert said calmly, his hand falling to his sword hilt at his waist, "And what is it _you _want?"

Altaïr flicked his right wrist, his blade sliding out as it always did. "_Blood,_" he hissed, before lunging forward at the Templar before him.

Malik attempted to pull him back, crying "No, don't!"

It was too late. Robert caught his wrist and easily hit him in the face, grabbing both wrists to stop both hidden blades from sticking him in the eyes. Amani shot forward as well with a cry, nearly losing an arm as another Templar swiped at her with his sword before being grabbed as well, her arms twisted roughly behind her back.

"You know not the things with which you meddle, Assassins!" Robert snarled at them evilly, smirking at the angered looks on their faces. "I spare you both only that you may return to your 'Master', and deliver a message! The Holy Land is lost to him and his! He should flee now while he has the chance! Stay, and all of you will _die!_"

Satisfied with his threat, he jerked his head at his companion, and together they threw both Assassins through the entrance they'd used. Amani and Altaïr both harshly hit several scaffolding platform legs, and debris, rocks and wood easily blocked the exit to both groups. Altaïr got up first, scrapping his hand on a sharp piece of wood as he went, while Amani got up slowly, gazing at the mess in irritation.

"Men! To arms! Kill the Assassins!" Robert's voice came from the other side, shouting orders at his Templar's as he himself attacked; whether it was Malik or Kadar, neither Altaïr nor Amani knew.

"Well that was just brilliant!" Amani spat at her old partner as the sounds of fighting echoed from the cave they were just.

"Don't start with me!" Altaïr snarled back, annoyed now that he was about to get chewed out.

"You couldn't just leave well enough alone, could you? !" Amani exclaimed, waving her arms in a flustered motion, "You just broke _all. Three. Tenets! ! ! !_ Do you have any idea how much trouble we will be in when we return home?! They will have our heads for this, Altaïr!"

Ignoring her outburst, Altaïr shook his head and turned away, seeing a series of scaffolding platforms that led to an entrance way at the top of the cave. He headed towards it, jumping on top of the platforms and climbing up. Realizing she was being ignored, Amani huffed out a breath of frustration and begrudgingly followed her colleague upwards.

After reaching a stone ledge, Altaïr ran up a rock wall and grabbed the edge, pulling himself up onto it and entering the doorway, leaving his partner to her own devices. Scowling to herself, Amani followed him as quickly as she could.

There was another, taller rock wall further through the tunnel, but Altaïr didn't think twice before finding a foothold and climbing up the cliff face without batting an eye.

Reaching the top, Altaïr blinked as bright sunlight fell onto him. An opening to the outside offered a lovely view of Jerusalem, but he ignored that; he had to get out of there.

Richard was suddenly pulled out of the scene as the AI spoke up, "**Fast-forwarding part of memory to a more recent one.**"

His vision turned white.

**YJ~*~*~*~*~AC**

** A/N: Wow. This took a little while, but the good news is, we got to the first part of the actual game! WOOT! Anyway, hope you all enjoyed it!  
~Persephone**


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